Assembled: Earth's Last Heroes
by The Light of the First Dawn
Summary: The worst has happened. Thanos has succeeded in destroying half the universe. When a group of Avengers and a suspiciously Roman demigod by the name Jason Grace enters Hotel Valhalla, what will they do? Rated T for violence.
1. Introduction

Prologue:

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT. IF YOU HAVE NOT WATCHED INFINITY WAR, READ THE BURNING MAZE OR ARE IN BOTH THE RICK RIORDAN AND/OR MCU FANDOM YOU WILL FIND THIS VERY DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND EVEN WITH CONTEXT. WE HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU GO AND WATCH THE MCU MOVIES AND INFINITY WAR AND ALSO THE ENTIRE PERCY JACKSON/HEROES OF OLYMPUS/TRIALS OF APOLLO SERIES TO PROPERLY UNDERSTAND WHAT IS GOING ON. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Hello everyone, we are ttdbzgumball and The Light of the First Dawn and we are here to bring you our super awesome story about the avengers because we know everyone is sad about infinity war and as we wait the agonising wait for Avengers 4 and The Tyrant's Tomb in which we hope Loki and Jason are coming back or we will sue the Russo brothers and Rick. And we are writing this story to ease our broken souls. Anyways we need this prologue to explain a bit of the context in this story. It is confusing if you don't properly understand it first.

So basically our prompt is "What if Magnus Chase happened in the context of the MCU (and vice versa)?" This happens IMMEDIATELY after infinity war and the burning maze, assuming they happen at the same time. Of course, The Ship of the Dead happens during Burning Maze in the Rick Riordan canon mythos (and e know the MCU and Rick Riordan timelines are seriously messed up, and there are a lot of issues relating to the fact that the Battle of New York in the first Avengers movie is around the same time as the war, also in New York, in the Last Olympian and such), but we are going to conveniently ignore that and shift Magnus Chase's story back a few months, or even years - anyways, the point is that while Apollo and Meg have the Oracles and the Triumvirate to deal with, the Earth's Mightiest Heroes have their own troubles to deal with in relation to the Huge Purple Grape of Destruction. And, naturally, these two events find a way to collide with each other.

Also, we know that in the canon MCU, all those who disintegrated from the snap at the end are definitely coming back (I mean, there's Homecoming 2 and GotG 3 and there's absolutely no way they're not going to bring T'Challa back for a Black Panther sequel), and yes, we are aware they're probably trapped in the Soul Stone or something. However, for the purposes of the story, we are going to assume they are dead. Like, actually dead as a doornail. (and no, they're most probably NOT coming back to life by the end of the story. Sorry.) And what happens to them after they die? They enter Hotel Valhalla, of course. And because Odin and pretty much every other god is dead, Thor now runs the place.

And who else should show up at the pearly gates of Hotel Valhalla? One suspiciously Roman demigod by the name of Jason Grace.

Why isn't he in Elysium? Why Valhalla? In fact, why are they all in Valhalla, even T'Challa, who should be prowling in the Ancestral Plains by now? That's one of the mysteries the new team of dead heroes have to solve. Of course, another one is, what is Thanos's next step now that he's gained infinite power?

However, also for the purposes of the story, we are, very sadly, NOT going to bring the dead Asgardian gods back - as much as I love Loki, it would fit the story better if the immortals who died stayed permanently dead. However, there are definitely going to be a lot of Loki-centered flashbacks on Thor's part (he's a main character), so don't worry, we'll find ways to fill the Loki-sized gap in our hearts (mine is huge).

And if you think this story is only going to focus on the dead heroes, you're sorely mistaken. Much of it will also be focused on the still-living Avengers, figuring out their own problems, and who knows? We may even get a sneak peek of the Camps.

P.S. we will ignore the whole doctor strange seeing only one possible future where they all survive thing. A lot of things don't make sense in this context, so as the writes of this fanfiction we have chosen to change and/or ignore them. Sorry.

So, if you're interested, continue reading. Good luck, and may the Force be with you. (wrong story but still a great line to use)


	2. Chapter 1: Jason

**Chapter 1: Jason**

 _By ttdbzgumball and The Light of the First Dawn_

Jason Grace woke.

He was lying on the hard, smooth ground. The battle with Caligula seemed only moments ago and he could still feel electricity humming in his veins. There wasn't a single scratch on him. Not a single arrow was stuck on him and he could no longer see the wounds that had sent him to this place.

What was this place?

Slowly he got to his feet. Somehow, despite everything, he still felt better and stronger than he ever had before. He felt like he could run up the Himalayas. Which was weird, considering he had just been stabbed between the shoulderblades.

He was in Malibu. More specifically, the McLean mansion area, just as he had told his loyal Tempest to get them to, except… where were Piper, Apollo and Meg?

In front of him was a massive, beautiful townhouse, one that he did not recognise from his previous visits. This was definitely not the McLean mansion - it was twice as big. He approached the double front doors. In front of the house were two signs. One was in weird squiggly lines. The other was in English:

HOTEL VALHALLA

Valhalla….Jason remembered the Norse mythology he had learned. Lupa had made sure they were well versed in other mythology as well. Jason had thought it was all just fantasy, but since Percy had told them the Egyptian gods were real, he wasn't sure what to believe anymore. He and Annabeth had also told them…

Annabeth had a cousin who was a Norse demigod. Who was dead.

He rubbed his eyes. From his studies, he recalled Valhalla was the Elysium equivalent in the Nine Realms. _And that means….._

He was dead.

 _So that's why I couldn't see Piper, Meg and Apollo! I wonder if they're okay._

 _But… wait...why here? Why not Elysium? I'm a Roman demigod, not a Norse one, like Annabeth's cousin._

He needed to find answers. Immediately.

Suddenly, the double doors opened, as if hearing his unspoken plea.

A burly man appeared. He was dressed as a security guard: black cap, black gloves, and a black jacket. But there was no way this guy was an actual security guard. Who would hire someone with such bloodshot and murderous eyes? And… was that a double-bladed ax?! His name tag read: HUNDING, SAXONY, VALUED TEAM MEMBER SINCE 749 C.E. That was also probably the year he last shaved.

"S-s-sorry," Jason stammered. "Is...is this Valhalla? The hall for dead demigods?"

The man scowled. He shuffled closer to Jason. He smelled like turpentine and burning meat.

"Demigods? The term here is einherji, boy. And you don't look like much of an einherji to me."

"No, I'm a demigod. My name is Jason Grace. I'm a son of Jupiter. Or Zeus, I suppose."

The security guard recoiled from him like he was poison. "There's no way, boy. Greeks and Romans have their own underworld. You must be mistaken."

"I'm not," said Jason. He pulled up his shirt sleeve to reveal his SPQR tattoo. "I'm here now, for whatever reason. I'm dead, I'm Greek-Roman, and I need to find out why I'm here. Help me. Please."

The security guard, Hunding, stayed silent for a while, pondering this dilemma. "Then you must have a purpose to be here. Come, I'll show you to registration."

 _Registration?_

"Is this some kind of hotel?" Jason asked.

Hunding led him through the double doors.

"Welcome to Hotel Valhalla, kid."


	3. Chapter 2: Peter

**Chapter 2: Peter**

 _By ttdbzgumball and The Light of the First Dawn_

Peter Parker woke.

He was standing on the ruins of Titan, his hands still outstretched.

The last thing he remembered was embracing his friend, mentor, father figure, Tony Stark, and crumbling to dust in his hands. He remembered pleading to him, to the universe, to stay. Thanos had succeeded, and half the universe, including him, should be gone. So why was he still here? Had he somehow survived? But… that wasn't possible. He had just seen himself crumble to dust.

 _Where was he now? Where was everyone? How did he get here?_

With his head swarming with unanswered questions, he stumbled through the ruins, searching for answers, for Tony, for Doctor Strange, for anyone, anything.

He arrived at a mansion at the top of the hill. It reminded him, somehow, of the huge houses in New York which was always too expensive for them to afford, but was still a nice dream. It reminded him of home.

Home…..

Aunt May. His friends. How were they? Had they survived in New York? Or had they crumbled to dust, like Peter himself had? He suddenly wished he was back at home, with Ned by his side, Aunt May baking cookies in the kitchen. He wished that he had never got off the bus, never been part of the fight, never crumbled to dust. Gosh, how could he be so selfish?

Gods, he missed them so much. The Avengers, Tony, his family, his friends. Now he was all alone.

He snapped out of his thoughts and turned his gaze back to the mansion. How was this house still standing though?

As if on cue, the giant oak doors flung open, and he was greeted by a man who he had never met before. His name tag read: HUNDING, SAXONY, VALUED TEAM MEMBER SINCE 749 C.E.

Hunding…. Why did that sound so familiar? He racked his brain, trying to find a memory of where he heard the name, anything that would link him to this man, but there was nothing.

Hunding slowly approached him and whipped out his double-bladed axe.

"What insect are you! State your purpose to Hotel Valhalla!" boomed Hunding.

 _Hotel Valhalla? Insect?_

That was when Peter realised he was still wearing his Spiderman suit. His only connection to Tony. He pulled his hood off and faced Hunding.

"I am Peter Parker. Or Spiderman. And I am dead."

"Dead?" muttered Hunding. Then he slowly lowered his axe and walked over to Peter.

"Why, yes indeed you are!." he exclaimed. "Come. Let me take you to registration."


	4. Chapter 3: Tony

**Chapter 3: Tony**

 _By ttdbzgumball and The Light of the First Dawn_

" _Mr. Stark,"_

" _I don't feel so good,"_

" _Are you alright?"_

" _I don't know- I don't know what's happening…"_

" _I don't wanna go, I don't wanna go…"_

" _Sir, please, please, I don't wanna go,"_

" _I don't wanna go…"_

" _I'm sorry."_

Tony Stark opened his eyes. He was still standing on the ruins of Titan. He could not believe that just a moment ago, he had been embracing Peter Parker while he spoke his last words.

Peter, the boy who had once told him that he was his idol, the boy in the iron man mask when he was fighting Hammer's drones. Hot tears started flowing down his cheek. He could not stand it anymore. Doctor Strange, Mantis, Star Lord, Groot, Peter, all his friends were all gone.

Gone. For good.

He took a deep breath then said shakily, "Friday, take me back to Earth, to the Avengers."

"But sir, the suit is at 20% and I am not sure if the suit can still fly in space after…"

"Just do it."

He closed his eyes and let his suit take over him.


	5. Chapter 4: Jason

**Chapter 4: Jason**

 _By ttdbzgumball and The Light of the First Dawn_

As Jason entered Hotel Valhalla, he felt like he was an ant in the Grand Central Terminal in New York. The lobby was huge. It was about twice the size of the London Heathrow Airport and it was way bigger than it looked on the outside. The polished wooden floor was covered in various exotic animal skins and against the right wall, a hot blazing fire burned in a bedroom-size hearth. In front of it was an enormous couch which smelled of rotten eggs. Jason made his mind to never sit on it like the weird alien-looking guys sitting on it now. In the middle the lobby, was a display board that announced:

TODAY'S ACTIVITIES

SINGLE COMBAT TO THE DEATH!—OSLO ROOM, 10 A.M.

2 VS 2 COMBAT TO THE DEATH!—STOCKHOLM ROOM, 11 A.M.

BUFFET LUNCH TO THE DEATH!—DINING HALL, 12 P.M.

FULL ARMY COMBAT TO THE DEATH!—MAIN COURTYARD, 1 P.M.

READING TO THE DEATH!—LIBRARY, BRING YOUR OWN BOOK, 4 P.M.

He stared at it. Buffet lunch _to the death?_ Reading _to the death_? What?

"The reception desk is over there," grunted Hunding.

Jason glanced over. The so called reception desk looked like an upside down boat and the man sitting behind the boat probably stopped shaving at the same time Hunding did. Wait...no...he probably stopped even earlier than him. His beard was so long it nearly touched the floor and he was dressed in full black. His name tag read: HELGI, MANAGER, EAST GOTHLAND, VALUED TEAM MEMBER SINCE 749 C.E.

"Welcome." Helgi muttered bitterly as he glanced up from his computer screen. "Gods of Asgard, this place is severely overfilled. The overwhelming multitude of it all, with Ragnarok happening so fast and… Checking in?"

"Uh -" _Check in? He never even booked a room here!_

"Never mind." replied Helgi sourly. He tapped a few keys on his keyboard. "Ah, here we are." He said after a while. "We've upgraded you to a suite."

"Ugh, upgraded to a suite _again_. Well, what did you expect? We _only_ have suites." muttered Hunding under his breath.

"Hunding…" warned Helgi, clearly annoyed, "Hunding will show you to your room. There's a huge new crowd of people, you'll be sure to meet some friends."


	6. Chapter 5: Thor

**Chapter 5: Thor**

 _By ttdbzgumball and The Light of the First Dawn_

Wakanda was as silent as a tomb.

Thor, Black Widow, Captain America, Bruce Banner, James Rhodes were all standing in a circle silently grieving for their lost friends. Only when Captain America spoke did the truth actually sink in.

"They're gone." he breathed. "All of them."

Thor stood with them in silence. He watched the ashes of their fallen friends drift away in the wind. Suddenly, he felt himself leave his body. A vision? Now? Seriously?

 _He saw Hotel Valhalla before him. There was a crowd in the hallway. Scarlet witch, the tree, even those others he had met in space….The Wizard from New York, too? And… a boy in a ridiculous red costume with a spider insignia?_

They were all there. The heroes, gathered in the halls of the dead. Just as he expected them to be. He felt a deep pang of sorrow as he saw that his brother - who had died a hero - wasn't there among them. Of course Loki wasn't there — once gods died they were gone, and could never come back. But the others could. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Tony wasn't among them.

There was also another blond haired boy, holding a bronze sword with intricate carvings on the hilt. Thor felt an aura around this one, a crackling, immensely powerful one not so different from his own. This boy was not of Asgard, but….

Then he saw the tattoo on his arm. SPQR? The Roman legion. What was this boy doing here in Valhalla? Wasn't he supposed to be in the Underworld with Haileys or whatever he was called?

He snapped out of his trance and found the remaining Avengers staring at him.

"Thor?" Cap started but Thor cut him off.

"I must go." Thor held Stormbreaker, ready to summon the bifrost.

"Where?" asked Natasha.

Just as he vanished into the Bifrost, he uttered an answer that made no sense to the Avengers.

"To bring our friends back."


	7. Chapter 6: Jason

**Chapter 6: Jason**

 _By ttdbzgumball and The Light of the First Dawn_

Jason felt like he was in a maze. He suddenly remembered what Percy had told him about the Labyrinth, and he shuddered. Each hallway looked identical to him, with wolf heads hung on the walls and animal fur as carpets and each hall they walked through seemed bigger than the one before.

Wolves….

He remembered Camp Jupiter now, how Lupa had trained him to be the warrior he was. He felt a pang of regret strike him as he missed his old homes. He could only hope that Apollo kept his promise and brought his plans to Camp Jupiter.

Most of the hallways were deserted, but all of the hotel guests Jason saw were dressed in all black. Small groups of people sat together, their heads bowed, their faces glistening with tears.

"What happened?" he asked Hunding, who seemed oblivious to the fact that everyone around him was in mourning.

"Well it's a long story, but here goes. Long story short, Asgard was destroyed. Odin's dead and Thor is the only major god still alive."

"What?! How did that happen?"

"Well, a few years ago we had a kind of crisis in which we thought Ragnarok was happening. We, or should I say Magnus Chase and his friends, managed to save Asgard then, and we thought the trouble was over, but in reality it was only just beginning. After Odin passed on only a few months ago, Hotel Valhalla went into mourning and it's been in lockdown ever since. However, Odin's death unlocked the curse he gave Hela, the goddess of death, and the brothers Thor and Loki were forced to team up to defeat her. Eventually, they realised the only was to stop Hela was to destroy Asgard, since that's the source of Hela's power. So now Asgard is destroyed, and Ragnarok - the true Ragnarok - has happened. Thor and Loki, however, managed to escape with the remainder of Asgard's population."

"Wow." breathed Jason, still intaking all this information. "Sounds like it's been a really long and really horrible weekend."

"It has," said Hunding grimly. "Well, we've been cut from all communications since the refugees arrived, so we really don't know what's going on out there, except that a LOT of people are dying right now. All we can do for now is provide a safe home for the Asgardian refugees and receive the new and overwhelming dead and try and guess what's happening outside."

"Wait," said Jason. "There's something I don't quite get that I heard everyone whispering about. What are the Infinity Stones? Who's Thanos? I don't remember him being a Norse god."

Hunding grimaced. "Ah, well, that's something your new hallmates can explain to you. They've just been there and seen that. Come, we have arrived to your room."


	8. Chapter 7: Tony

**Chapter 7: Tony**

 _By ttdbzgumball and The Light of the First Dawn_

"Sir, we have arrived at Wakanda." said Friday.

Tony opened his eyes and surveyed his surroundings. He was standing in what would normally have been a lush green forest, but because of Thanos and his army, it had turned into a danger zone - with fires spreading rapidly across treetops and trees occasionally collapsing, blocking his pathway. A once-beautiful land that had been consumed by fire and destruction. The mark of Thanos.

He trod carefully over some fallen branches and arrived at the clearing, where the few remaining Avengers stood with their backs turned to him.

He felt a pang in his chest when he realised that only Natasha, Steve, Bruce and Rhodey were standing there. The others were gone. Just like Peter and the Guardians and Strange. Ashes drifted in the air. He silently walked over to them and stood beside Steve.

Vision's lifeless body lay on the scorched grass. The Mind Stone on his forehead was gone.

The Avengers looked up at Tony, recovering from their shock. Bruce nodded at him, and Natasha gave him a small but tired smile. Rhodey clapped him on the back. "Glad to see you back."

"Is Thor also…" he choked at the last word.

"No," murmured Steve, not looking up. "He said something about saving our friends and vanished. He might as well be our only hope now."

Tony directed his full attention to him. "Cap - Steve." He didn't know where to begin. After everything that had happened, he wasn't even sure if he could _begin_ anymore. "I….I.."

Steve finally turned to Tony. Without saying anything, he embraced his former enemy. His former friend.

"I'm sorry."


	9. Chapter 8: Jason

**Chapter 8: Jason**

 _By ttdbzgumball and The Light of the First Dawn_

Jason's room was on floor 27, and of course, it was huge.

It wasn't dark or depressing or cramped like other hotel corridors. In fact, you could fit an entire soccer pitch in the hall. They approached the guest rooms, and Jason made sure to check the names on each room - these were his new hallmates.

The first guest room read T'Challa Udaku. He could've sworn he'd heard that name before - from the news. A politician, maybe? What on earth was he doing here?

The second one: Peter Quill. From that room, he heard a lot of screaming, and things breaking.

After that were some other weird names: Drax? Mantis? Groot?

Next: James Buchanan Barnes. Then: Sam Wilson. Wanda Maximoff. Stephen Strange. He heard a few people arguing in there. He suspected they were the ones whose rooms were empty and silent. This corridor seemed to never end.

Jason wondered just how many people were living in this corridor. As if reading his mind, Hunding explained, "We're grouping together all the newcomers for now. It makes things slightly easier."

The second-to-last guest room door read Peter Parker. He thought he heard someone sobbing in there, but he wasn't sure. He decided to go check on him once he himself had been sorted.

The last one was his - a door inscribed Jason Grace.

Hunding gave him a stone with a weird inscribing on it that looked like an hourglass tipped to the side.

"Dagaz", explained Hunding. "A rune symbolising new beginnings and opens your door. It's exactly the same key for each room but each key is tied to an einherji and only you have access to it."

Jason touched the stone to the matching symbol on the doorknob, and the door swung open and he stepped in. His jaw dropped as he took in the contents of his room.

The suite, like everything else in this place, was massive. It was nicer than Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter cabins - heck, it was even nicer than the mansion he and Thalia had stayed in when they were living with their mother…

He pushed those memories away and focused on the room. In the middle of the suite, a central atrium was open to the sky. In front of him was a garden. Large oak trees surrounded the garden that reminded him very much of the pillars in Roman temples. Sunlight warmed his face. A pleasant breeze wafted through the room, bringing the smell of jasmine.

The suite was shaped like a cross, with four sections diverging from the central atrium. One was the entry hall. The next was a bedroom with a king-size bed. Despite its size, the room was plain and simple. There were white fluffy-looking pillows like the ones you get in hotels on the bed, orange walls with no decoration at all and heavy purple curtains that could be drawn to close off the space.

The wing to the left was a gigantic bathroom tiled in purple and orange, the colours that represented Camp-Half Blood and Camp Jupiter. His favourite colours. In there, was a sauna, a hot tub, a standing shower and a toilet fit for a king.

The suite's fourth wing was a full kitchen and living room. In the centre of the living room was a big leather sofa that faced a brand new TV. To the right of the sofa, a mahogany table sat in front of a crackling, brick fireplace and bookshelves filled with all of his favourite books. A plate of brownies that smelled exactly like his favourite treats from the New Rome bakery was placed on the fireplace mantel, as were some pictures.

Jason touched the first picture. It was of him as a baby with Thalia carrying him in her tiny arms, both of them smiling and happy and innocent. Chills ran through him as he realised the photo was taken right before he was taken by Lupa on the same day, in the same place.

The next one was a photo of him, Piper and Leo, in Camp Half-Blood. He felt a pang of immense sadness as he realised he never got to see Leo, alive and annoying as ever, before he came here. Leo could come back from the dead - but he couldn't.

Then there was a picture of him with the Seven, taken on the Argo 2. He didn't remember ever taking this picture, but everyone was there-Percy, Annabeth, Frank, Hazel, Leo, Piper, even Coach Hedge, Nico and Reyna. All of them were together again, in that one photo, all the people he'd grown to know and love over the craziest journey of his life, and he couldn't help but feel tears come to his face.

"This...can't be," Jason murmured. "How did you…" He turned to Hunding, who was wiping his eyes. "You okay?"

He cleared his throat. "Fine! Of course I'm fine. The hotel likes to provide you with reminders of your old life so you feel at home. Photographs…" Under his beard, his mouth might have been quivering. "Back when I died, they didn't have photographs. It's just…" He changed the subject immediately. "Well, you don't seem as surprised as the others who came here. The boy in the other room stared at his room for half an hour motionless and last I checked, he's still trying to take it all in."

"Yeah, well I'm quite used to magic already, actually. The boy in the room next to mine - you mean Peter Parker? I think I heard him crying. Is he alright?"

"You should go check on him yourself, boy. You don't seem as shaken as all the others who arrived today. Must be a different crowd. They're not willing to talk to anyone except each other. I don't even want to imagine what horrors they had to face. I don't think any of them are alright, or will be for a very long time."

"What happened? Why…"

"We don't know either, ask them yourself. I should probably go now. If you have any questions, call the front desk. I look forward to hearing about your brave exploits tonight at dinner."

He left, leaving the door open behind him.

Hesitantly, Jason looked longingly at the photos one last time then walked out of the room, off to meet his new roommates and find out just what the Hades was going on.


	10. Chapter 9: Peter

**Chapter 9: Peter**

 _By ttdbzgumball and The Light of the First Dawn_

Jason knocked on the door of Peter Parker's room. The door was ajar. When no one answered, he quietly pushed the door open and stepped inside.

Jason could hear sobbing coming from the bedroom. He silently walked over and saw a boy of about 17 wearing a red and blue costume emblazoned with gold. The boy was inconsolable, and he was clutching a few photos, no doubt similar to his own. He murmured something about "gone", "succeeded" and far too many "I'm sorry"s. Jason didn't know what had happened to this boy, but he knew it must have been very, very bad.

"Hey," he murmured, edging closer to the boy. "Are you okay?"

The boy turned to him suddenly. "How...how did you get in here?"

Jason motioned to the door. "It was open and I...I came in to check if you were okay." He extended a hand to the boy. "I'm Jason Grace."

The boy watched Jason's hand, and shook it. "Peter. Peter Parker." He laughed a bit, attempting to wipe his tears away. "Not great at first impressions, am I?"

Jason glanced at the pictures in Peter's hands. One was of him and a man with a glowing blue circle in his chest he could've sworn he'd seen before, on the news. What were all these people, celebrities? Both the man and Peter were smiling and the man's hands tousled Peter's hair.

The second was of him and a middle aged couple. He looked younger in that one, but also just as happy. It reminded him, strangely, of Thalia. His family.

"Aunt May." he murmured.

"Oh…" Jason was at a loss for words, but he perfectly understood Peter's words. "I'm...so sorry."

"Don't be. It's not your fault," Peter smiled ruefully at the photos. "Well, apparently this is some kind of...afterlife, Heaven, I guess? If you don't mind me asking, what...brought you here?"

"That's an incredibly long story," said Jason, and he began to tell Peter of his experiences from the past few years - the quests, the Seven, Piper, everything. He had no idea why he was pouring it all out to a stranger he'd just met, but something about Peter reassured him.

"Wow," breathed Peter. "And I thought my mind couldn't explode any more than it already has. I mean, we've got aliens trying to wipe out half the universe, human experiments, Norse gods-"

Wait. How did this person - Peter - knew about the Norse gods?

"I've heard about Thor from Tony and the Avengers, they're apparently good friends," Peter shrugged. "Loki was his evil brother that tried to take over New York when I was a kid or something."

"Okay, that sounds even crazier. Now you tell me your story."

And Peter told him everything he knew too - how he ended up on the Avengers, about all of his adventures as Spiderman, all he knew about the Stones and Thanos (which wasn't much but it was a start), and finally, how he ended up here at Hotel Valhalla, dying in Tony's arms on Titan.

"Talking about the Avengers, I think a few of them are next door. They can probably explain the whole situation better than I can. They're all in Doctor Strange's room, I think."

So the Avenger and the demigod walked out side by side to try and find out answers to the questions they held.


	11. Chapter 10: Peter

**Chapter 10: Peter**

 _By ttdbzgumball and The Light of the First Dawn_

Peter Parker and Jason Grace walked along to hallway until Peter stopped at a door labeled Stephen Strange. It sounded like the people inside were trying to destroy the whole room. He knocked and waited.

The door opened slightly. "If it's housekeeping, then no, you are not needed yet - oh. Peter. It's you. And the new kid, I presume. Come in, we're trying to prevent Quill from destroying everything. Your help would be much appreciated."

The door opened fully and he walked in with Jason in toll. Strange - another one of him, was helping everyone else restrain Star-Lord, who looked positively outraged with a gag around his mouth. Black Panther - T'Challa - was trying to console him, but it wasn't working.

"Look, there's nothing we can do. We can only sit and wait. Could you please refrain from destroying my room?" Strange muttered as he walked back to the other version of himself and morphed into one - the one leading them in had been an illusion.

"Now let us give a formal welcome to our guest," he indicated Jason. "I'm Doctor Stephen Strange, and that," he pointed to Star-Lord, "is Peter Quill, also known as Star Lord, and he is presently very distressed, as you can see. That's Wanda Maximoff, also known as Scarlet Witch, " he said as he pointed to a woman who was sobbing in the corner, "And that's Drax, Mantis and Groot."

"I am Groot," said Groot.

"I am T'Challa, the King of Wakanda," greeted Black Panther. "And this is Wanda, White Wolf and Sam."

"Just call me Bucky," muttered White Wolf.

"Well, it's nice to meet you all," said Jason. "I'm Jason Grace, son of Jupiter, the Roman god of thunder."

Everyone collectively groaned. "Oh, now there are more gods?"

"It's a really long story," said Jason. "And I'm sure it's the same with your case too. Now, let's try to figure out what the Hades is going on."

Just then, from the wall speakers a horn blast sounded so loudly that everyone jumped.

Strange released Quill's gag. "What was that for?" groaned Star-Lord.

"Well, it looks like we'll be finally getting answers. It's time to eat dinner," said Jason.


	12. Chapter 11: Thor

**Chapter 11: Thor**

 _By ttdbzgumball and The Light of the First Dawn_

Magnus POV

Magnus Chase and his friends - TJ, Halfborn, Mallory, Samirah and Alex had just got back to Floor Nineteen just as the horn blast sounded from the wall speakers, indicating that it was time for dinner.

They entered the dining hall and sat down just as a swarm of people wearing weird costumes burst into the dining hall. In the lead was a boy with gold hair and electric-blue eyes.

Who were these people?

Annabeth had told Magnus about Jason, and that he had died. Based on the description that Annabeth had gave him of the Seven, he could instantly tell who Jason was, with his electric-blue eyes and gold hair. But...Jason was a demigod, not an einherji. What was he doing in Hotel Valhalla? And who were all these people in ridiculous costumes standing around him?

He snapped out of his thoughts as hundreds of Asgardian waiters and waitresses walked by, carrying huge platters of food and goblets and distributed them to the hungry einherjar. He looked over to where Jason and his friends were. They had sat down across him and had obviously started a heated discussion as a guy wearing a silver mask with red spots as eye holes kept slapping his hand on the table, causing everyone around him to jump every time.

He could distinctly make out a few words from their conversation, "Thanos… Caligula…. Infinity Stones….. half the universe…..triumvirate..."

He had no idea what any of those words meant. Suddenly, there was a huge crash from the head table as the Bifrost imploded into the dining hall. He glanced over and saw Thor, emerging from the pile of wooden splinters and glass shards. He seemed to have came in by breaking through the rooftop.

He heard exclaims coming from the weird costumed guys sitting across him and a couple of "Is that Thor?" "Is that actually Thor?"

They watched as Thor dusted himself off. He had a new haircut, and wielded not Mjolnir, but an axe that crackled with power. There was a short pause as everyone tried to register what was going on. Then Hunding knelt. Then Helgi, then one by one, gradually everyone knelt before Thor.

He watched them solemnly as everyone knelt before the only surviving god of Asgard, the god who was always absent because he was needed with the Avengers, the god who had been a part in saving New York from Thanos' minions and the god who, alongside his brother, Loki had saved most of the Asgardians from Hela's wrath.

General POV

It was Quill who broke the silence. He strode over to Thor. "It's you. You're the one who's in charge of this place, isn't it? Are you behind all this too? Tell me, where is Gamora? TELL ME!"

The entire room collectively gasped, as if wondering who on earth was this man who dared to scream at the God of thunder. But Quill's face shook with anger and a deep guilt. Tears poured down his face.

Thor stared at him. "I don't know." he said softly. "I believe Thanos used her as a sacrifice to get the Soul Stone. If that truly was the case, then she isn't dead. She's trapped in it. I'm sorry, Quill."

Quill looked at him, a realisation forming in his eyes. "She's...not dead." he murmured, deep relief washing over him. "I…"

Strange walked swiftly over to them, silencing Quill. "It's good to see you, Odinson."

"And you too, wizard," Thor replied.

"Where is Loki?" asked Strange.

Thor was silent for a moment in his grief. "Loki is dead."

All of the einherjar and Asgardians were shocked. Who did these people think they are? Chatting to Thor like they were old friends. Although, perhaps they were.

Thor walked slowly over to where the Avengers stood.

"I am Groot."

"Good to see you again." smiled Thor. "The rabbit was losing it."

"I am Groot."

"Oh, don't worry. The Allfather is dead, so I'm kind of in charge of this place now. You won't come under any harm here, I can assure you."

The Avengers seemed to slump in relief.

Thor looked around the dining hall, and announced to the frozen einherjar and refugees,

"Everyone, we have much to discuss, but we are safe here. Please, sit and eat."

The entire hall seemed to be lifted of a huge weight as the feast began. Thor walked over to the Avengers' table and sat with them.

Thor looked at Jason. "You. You are a half-blood, aren't you? But you're not of Asgard."

"You have no idea how many people have told me that today," grumbled Jason.

"You have a strange aura around you. Distinctively Mediterranean, if I may say so myself. Are you a child of Zeus? Or Jupiter?"

"Jupiter."

Thor twirled his axe around in his hand. "Ah. My Roman counterpart. They were always feisty, those Greeks, running around causing trouble, but I suppose it the nature of us gods. And now there is yet another mystery to solve…"

"Which is what on earth am I doing in here."

"Trust me, this place is way nicer than Elysium. No offense to Halieys but he's all doom and gloom and darkness, blah blah blah.."

"Haileys?" asked Jason incredulously. He had never heard anyone insult Hades before.

"Well, whatever his name is." Thor chuckled. "Like I said, I don't meddle with those down south."

"You are not the only one facing a dilemma in this afterlife." All eyes turned to Black Panther. "As a King of Wakanda, I should be roaming the Ancestral Plains with my predecessors. Yet I am sat here dining with you in the halls of another legend."

"It is no coincidence," said Strange. "Fate, twisted as it may be, has brought us all together, to this hall of the dead, for a purpose. To unite against one common enemy who had...has the power to destroy us all."

"Thanos." said Jason. "The guy everyone's been talking about since I got here."

There was no need for a response.

"Right." said Thor. "As you all know, Thanos has destroyed half the universe."

All of the Avengers nodded glumly.

"What?! What happened?" asked Jason.

"Well, you know about Ragnarok right?"

Jason nodded.

After Ragnarok, we were escaping to Earth on the spaceship when Thanos attacked our ship to take an Infinity Stone - the Space Stone in the Tesseract that Loki had stolen from Asgard's vaults before it was destroyed. My brother resisted at first, but Thanos killed him and he died a hero, although he had done many terrible things in the past." Thor paused a bit, obviously still in grief. "The Asgardians, however, have managed to escape, and are now taking refuge here in Hotel Valhalla, as you can see. Hotel Valhalla is a place beyond Thanos's control, as it is the hall of the dead." continued Thor.

"I had to give him the Time Stone to save Stark," said Strange grimly.

"And he u...used G...Gamora for a sacrifice to get the So...Soul Stone," said Quill, his voice shaking.

"He...he ki...killed Vi...Vision to get the Mind Sto….Stone from his head," mumbled Wanda through sobs.

"I'm sorry," murmured Jason.

"Thanos had the Power Stone from the start," said Thor.

"And he got the Reality Stone from the Collector on Knowhere," finished Drax.

"Once all six stones are brought together, Thanos will have unprecedented power, capable of destroying and enslaving entire planets with a click of his fingers." explained Thor. "That was how he destroyed half the population in the universe."

"So… how is it related to me?" asked Jason.

"Well firstly, since a lot of brave Valkyries and einherjar sacrificed themselves to stop Ragnarok, we need all the help we can have to defeat Thanos."

"You want me to help you defeat Thanos?"

"Yes."

"Why me though?"

"I believe that Thanos wants something from your people, but I do not know what yet." replied Thor.

"Oh...but…how can we defeat him?"

"Thanos has a weakness - his ego. So if we use that against him and get him to only use one stone at a time and try to defeat us, we might have a slight chance of defeating him."

"Then how do we get to Thanos? Doesn't he have a lot of minions working for him?"

"Yes, he does, but the problem is that we don't know who's working for him," replied T'Challa.

There was silence as everyone paused to take in all the information.

"Ok, how about we put ourselves in his shoes. If you were Thanos, what would you want to do after destroying half the population on the universe?" asked Peter, breaking the silence.

"Umm….I understand I'm the newbie here, and I don't want to sound stupid, but in MY situation…" Jason briefly explained the Triumvirate. "...so, they want to become literal gods, immortal with nothing stopping them."

"What they don't know is that gods can still die. They just don't die of old age," said Thor. "Besides, Thanos is pretty much a god already-invincible and impossible to defeat."

"But...but maybe that's the point. Maybe Thanos wants to live for literal eternity. That's a power even beyond the Stones, isn't it? Being able to live forever. Absolutely nothing would be able to stop him then. Not old age, not bodily damage, nothing. He would be omnipotent, invincible, unstoppable…" Jason didn't bother to finish his sentence. All the Avengers around him understood.

Thor suddenly recalled his brothers' last words to Thanos, choking to death on a burning ship, Thanos's giant hand crushing his neck and everything Thor had left along with it.

"You will never be a god."

He pushed the memory away. He could not relive this memory. Not now. _Brother…_

"Yes. He's right." he said firmly. _Loki must've known. He wouldn't just throw that line around..._

"Can't you just use the Time Stone to do that then? Reverse yourself so you never age or die? Or the Reality Stone." asked Quill.

Dr Strange watched Jason thoughtfully. "Good question, but no. The Time Stone doesn't work that way. Although you could theoretically capture yourself in a loop, you could still take damage. Simply reversing death every time it shows itself is far too much of a hassle. It's also quite...unpleasant." He shuddered as he remembered his encounter with Dormammu. "The boy's got a point. The Infinity Stones might make you all-powerful, but it doesn't necessarily guarantee immortality or eternal life. You would need a different kind of power for that. Like in the Dark Dimension, where you could escape time itself…"

"No." Everyone turned to Mantis. "That does not make any sense. Thanos would not want to exist outside of time, I would want to exist in time specifically because of the power time brings. Thanos's ultimate goal is to ensure the universe remains in perfect balance - forever. Destroying half the universe was only the first part of his plan. He believes because he alone has seen the pain and destruction imbalance brings firsthand, he is the only one worthy of keeping the balance. To do that, he will do anything, even if it means living forever to ensure the universe will be in balance for all eternity."

Everyone stared at Mantis in silence.

"I have seen inside his mind," said Mantis evenly. "Although he keeps much of his thoughts well-shrouded, his motives are clear. He truly will stop at nothing to make sure the universe is in balance forever. Killing half the universe, making himself immortal, believe it or not, those are nothing compared to what he is willing to do."

"He's insane," muttered Quill.

"He's not insane," Bucky retorted. "I've been tortured into insanity before. That's not how it feels. Being insane means you've lost complete control of your own mind. You don't know who you are, you don't care. Thanos knows exactly who he is. He knows exactly what he wants. He has a plan, and he's willing to go to very, very extreme lengths for it. That's not insanity, it's his pride and ambition and his extremely firm belief that he's _right_ that's driving him to go this far."

They went silent again. Thor remembered Steve had told him about his fallen friend. Bucky had gone through so much - he, more than anyone else, coultd understand what pain felt like.

"Well, when you think about it, Thanos has a point." said Falcon. All eyes fell on him now, as if saying, _Are you serious?_

"I mean, hear me out." said Sam. "The universe is-was pretty overpopulated. In a really, really twisted way, Thanos does have the right idea. Just that destroying half the universe might not be the best way to solve the problem."

"Well, he's right," said Dr Strange. "Sort of. Just...let's not try to get into any more morally problematic dilemmas, since half the universe is gone and everything. Figure out one thing first, then the next."

"Ok, now that we know Thanos's next step of the plan, that he wants to become immortal, who would he want for allies?" asked Peter.

"Umm… people who know how to become immortal? Like the Triumvirate?" replied Jason.

"The Triumvirate….Could it be possible that…." murmured Strange.

"No. I don't think so. They call themselves the Triumvirate Holdings, so I think it's only the three of them." replied Jason. "And as you know…"

"Triumvirate means a trio of rulers," finished Thor. "And according to what Jason said, the Triumvirate has been around and trying to find the recipe to become gods for _centuries_. The lifespan of Thanos's kind is definitely not that long."

"But...what if…." said Peter. "The Time Stone might not have the power to grant immortality, but it has the power to go back in time. Then, Thanos could have…" A horrible idea began to form in his mind, which the Avengers immediately caught on.

Thor stood. "We need to go back to Earth and investigate. Now." He looked at the assembled dead. "But seeing as I am the only one living and Valhalla is in lockdown, it is probably safer that I go down to check by myself first. I will report the news that you are all safe, albeit deceased, and I will come back with my findings as soon as possible. You should all get some rest. It's obviously been a long day." He softened as he looked at all the Avengers, Guardians and Jason. "And it was good to see you all."

He swung Stormbreaker and vanished back through the Bifrost, leaving Jason and the universe's mightiest heroes with empty plates and much to discuss.


	13. Chapter 12: Apollo

**Chapter 12: Apollo**

 _By ttdbzgumball and The Light of the First Dawn_

"Caldecott Tunnel, Orinda, USA"

Apollo was reading the address to Camp Jupiter on the small slip of paper Piper had given him for the twentieth time. Meanwhile, Meg, his demigod master (long story) was lying down on one of the front seats in the private jet Piper had given them, twirling her twin imperial gold rings that he knew would turn into two _siccae_ blades if anyone crossed her path.

It had felt like ages before he was last in the burning maze, seeing Jason die, seeing Crest die, yet it did not make him feel better as he reviewed the memories in his head.

He recalled his last encounter with the goddess Styx:

" _More broken promises," she hissed._

 __" _Jason Grace is dead," she continued. "And the young pandos."_

" _Do you begin to feel the folly of your rash vow upon my waters?" asked Styx. "There will be more deaths. My wrath will spare no one close to you until amends are made. Enjoy your time as a mortal, Apollo!"_

Oh how he hated having time to spare. To be finally able to process everything that has happened in his brain. To finally be forced to accept the fact that Jason is dead. Crest is dead. All because of him.

A sob built in his throat. But he could not give in to the sea of grief now. He was scared that if he went too far in, he would not be able to pull himself back out. No. He had a job now. He had to find Reyna and put a stop to the Triumvirate. He would not allow Jason and Crest and everybody else to sacrifice themselves for nothing.

Suddenly, the pilot screamed.

Apollo ran to him and he saw something he didn't know was possible. The pilot was...disintegrating. He was turning into dust from his hands up.

"No." Apollo muttered. What was happening? "No no, nononono…"

The plane lurched violently as the pilot finally dissolved into ash. Apollo frantically got into the pilot's seat. He didn't have time to process what was going on. Right now, he had to safely land this plane. Oh, why couldn't his godly power come into use at his most dangerous moments? If only he had his powers back, just for a second, he could teleport himself and Meg at least down to the ground safely if not all the way to Camp Jupiter.

 _No time to think now, Apollo. Just land the plane, godly powers or not._

He rushed to the wheel and started pressing random buttons, unsure what to do. He remembered watching all those movies with planes on Hephaestus-TV. Some of them were excellent and some were just downright terrible. Oh, why couldn't flying a plane be just as easy as flying his sun chariot?

He recalled the pilot pulling a lever down, but he surveyed the plane and there were countless levers around him. _Stupid movies making everything look so easy…_

He randomly pulled levers down and there was another lurch as the plane descended head-first to the ground.

Meg stirred. "What's going on?" she moaned.

"That," replied Apollo pointing at the window.

"What on earth did you do?" yelled Meg as she jumped up immediately and ran to the pilot area and pressed a few buttons.

The plane stopped crashing down head-first and hovered in mid-air.

 _Since when did Meg know how to fly a plane?_

She pressed another button and started steering the plane down. Suddenly, the plane started spinning down to the ground. Everything started beeping and flashing red at once.

"Apollo, try to send out a distress signal!" screamed Meg.

"How do I do that?" yelled Apollo.

"Just press that button!"

"Which button?"

"The green one!"

He pressed it, praying that it would make their plane stop falling. And it did.

"Huh?" muttered Meg.

"I SAVED THE DAY!" yelled Apollo.

"No you didn't," said a third voice as thunder roared and lightning cracked the sky in half.

"Zeus?" whispered Apollo. "Have you finally come to save me and bring me back to my divine self?"

"No." said a voice behind them.

Apollo and Meg both whipped around and saw a man wearing an iron chestplate holding an axe cracking with electricity climbing up the emergency exit of the plane.

Meg's _siccae_ blades were out and she looked ready to slice the man in half when he lowered his axe and the lightning and thunder stopped. He grabbed the two of them as if they were light as feathers and jumped out of the plane. They landed safely on the ground and the plane exploded behind them with an almighty BOOM.

"Are you a son of Zeus?" asked Apollo in awe. "I've never seen a child of Zeus have so much control over thunder and lightning."

"Child of Zeus?" snorted the man. "I am Thor, his Norse counterpart."

"Thor? Like Thor, god of thunder, son of Odin?"

"Yep, that's me," replied Thor.

"Okay. So...you're a friend? I mean, you're not with the Triumvirate are you?" asked Meg, still refusing to lower her _siccae_ blades.

"With the Triumvirate...You mean with Thanos? No. I just battled that guy."

"Wait... what? Who's Thanos?"

"You don't know Thanos? The Mad Titan? Huge Purple Grape of Destruction?" asked Thor hopefully.

"Um… no. Though… I do know quite a lot about Titans but I haven't heard of him in my billions of years of existence." replied Apollo.

"Billions of years? So you're also a god? You sure don't look like one," said Thor thoughtfully.

"I am a god. Or...I was. Until my father Zeus stripped me of my powers and dumped me here as a mortal to punish me," grumbled Apollo.

"You must be Apollo, then and… that must be your demigod master, Meg," he said, pointing at Meg.

"How do you know us?" asked Meg, who had lowered her blades and turned them back to rings.

"Jason told me to find you."

"Jason? As in Jason Grace?"

"Yep."

 _Okay, this is getting weird. Jason Grace was in this coffin right here for the whole time and unless he leapt out without us noticing or has an identical twin no one knows about it's kinda impossible for him to talk to Thor. Unless…._

"Did you go the the Underworld to find him?" asked Meg.

"The Underworld? To Haileys? No. He was in Hotel Valhalla."

"Hotel Valhalla? Isn't that the place where einherjar go to? How did he get there?" asked Apollo, who seemed clearly as puzzled as Meg was.

"I know you have a lot of questions, but let's get our priorities right. I came here to discuss with you about the Triumvirate and if they are related to Thanos."

"Just tell me, who is this Thanos?" questioned Apollo but Thor turned to Meg. She was bone-white and shaking. She looked terrified.

"You." said Thor. "Have you any affiliation with the Triumvirate? You seem like you know more about this than us."

"Nero mentioned him once," said Meg, her voice shaking, "He said….he…" She stopped for a moment, looking shocked.

Thor examined her closely. "Mind-wipe." he said. "This Nero person must have-"

"He's not a person," interjected Apollo, stopping Thor mid-sentence. "He's a monster who has done terrible things. I understand what you mean. He must have removed Meg's memory. But why this particular piece of information?"

"I...I remember now," stuttered Meg. "The Triumvirate….they...The Beast tried to keep it from me. The...the information was too sensitive to share to anyone. But I snuck into Nero's private chambers once. That was about...5 years ago, I think. I was around 7 at the time."

"5 years ago," murmured Thor. "When Loki took the Chitauri army and invaded New York."

"What?" exclaimed Apollo, but Meg continued. She remembered everything now.

"Nero-the Beast was talking urgently to someone...a messenger, he said. I'm not sure who he was. I don't even think he was human. He looked like...Voldemort? Squidward? Something like that. Gray, wrinkled skin, no nose."

"Ebony Maw," muttered Thor urgently. "A servant of Thanos. Part of an elite group of Thanos's children, the best of the best. They call themselves the Black Order. They were the ones who attacked the Asgardian ship. They destroyed everything I had left. My best friend. My brother…" Thor shuddered from the pain the memory clearly still brought him. He blinked his tears away, for now. "Maw calls himself Thanos's messenger."

"Yes," said Meg. "He told Nero how the first part of their...plan...was not as much a success as they had hoped. The Earth has great defenders, he said. One of them was…" she turned to Thor, realising. "You."

"He told Nero to speed up his part in the plan, and vanished. He was communicating with Nero through a hologram. The Beast immediately turned to where I was hiding. He knew I was there from the beginning. I thought he was going to kill me right then and there….but he didn't. Apparently, he still considered me a valuable asset to the plan, and he mind-wiped me. I remember everything now. But...I don't get it….how?"

"I have heard that mind-wipes are not permanent and can be triggered with a certain word or something significant in the memory. You probably heard the words mind-wipe and triggered the memory," Thor told Meg.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down. So, you're basically saying that someone tampered with Meg's mind and took a memory from her? Do you think there are other memories that they washed?" asked Apollo.

"Yes. There might be other memories but we need to find the right words to trigger it."

 _Honestly, I'm not surprised. The Beast has done terrible things, and someone like him definitely would tamper with Meg's memory for anything that he needs to remove._

"Thank you for your help," said Thor. "This only further proves what we suspected. Thanos is, indeed, working with the Triumvirate. And that is not good news. At all."

"Okay, this is all terrible, but I still don't know who Thanos is. Does he have anything to do with the pilot of our plane who just disintegrated?"

"Thanos's ultimate goal is to ensure the universe is perfectly balanced, and he has just achieved that goal by wiping out half the universe with a snap of his fingers. We strongly suspect his next step is to become immortal, so he can become a true god and ensure that balance forever, and we now he has gone to the Triumvirate to find the secret to how they became gods."

"Wait, wait, wait. So half the universe just _died_? And the Triumvirate, despite being a force to be reckoned with, could not have just been coerced into working with this Thanos so easily. They've been undercover for _centuries_. There's no way-"

"There _is_ no way," said Thor gravely. "Unless Thanos has something with the power to turn back time, back to the Roman empire. And that's exactly what he has."

"Oh no," whispered Apollo, everything dawning on him at once. "That's how he's managed to wipe out half the universe all at once. He's got all the Infinity Stones, hasn't he?"

Thor nodded soberly.

"The Infinity Stones...when the universe was created, so were they." Apollo explained to Meg. "Us gods….we didn't really like to meddle with them much, but my father used to speak of them. I think even he feared their power, and that's why we never sought to collect them for ourselves. Someone with that much power...I shudder even to think about it."

"Well, now Thanos has all the Infinity Stones." said Thor. "He is just missing a crucial part to become immortal, and that is the secret to living forever, which I believe the Triumvirate have."

"Yes," murmured Apollo. "Yes they do." The memory of when Medea had tried to flay him alive to extract his godly essence was still fresh in his mind. It had _not_ been pleasant.

"Wait….if Thanos is working with the Triumvirate, does that mean….." started Meg, the horrible truth dawning on her.

"Oh no. No. He knows about Bellona's daughter and he's probably headed for Camp Jupiter right now," finished Apollo.

"Then we must get there to help," said Thor.


	14. Chapter 13: Thor

**Chapter 13: Thor**

 _By ttdbzgumball and The Light of the First Dawn_

Apollo, Meg and Thor landed right in front of the two tunnel entrances where the entrance to Camp Jupiter is. There were no longer demigod guards guarding the entrance and they slipped in unnoticed.

And all he saw was red and ruin. Blood was splattered everywhere and the once-great Camp Jupiter had crumbled to dust. It immediately reminded Thor of the Asgardian ship and the fire Thanos had left it in. Broken shards of glass and wood splinters covered with pools of dark red blood surrounded them, and the ancient, grand temples that once stood on Temple hill were now reduced to broken pillars and concrete powder.

"No. No. NO! We're too late," whispered Apollo.

"No you're not," said a raspy voice coming from behind them.

Apollo and Meg whipped around, only to find someone. Someone who wasn't supposed to be here at all, someone who wasn't even supposed to be alive at all.

"You're just in time for the fun!" sneered Ebony Maw.

Lying limp in the air next to him, was the praetor of New Rome, the daughter of Bellona, Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano. She gave Apollo and Meg a small smile, before Maw snapped his fingers and she screamed, writhing and resisting to no avail.

"No. You're dead. You have to be. Strange said you were," murmured Thor in abject horror. "No one can survive the vacuum of space, except for the gods. And you're not a god."

"Perhaps," grinned Maw. "But Thanos has many powers in his control. Including the power of Time itself, the power over Life and Death."

 _That means...they're all back now._

Meg unsheathed her _siccae_ blades. "It's you. The person who was talking to Nero."

"Ah, if it isn't the daughter of the useless gardener." jeered Maw.

"DON'T YOU DARE!" shouted Meg as she leapt to attack, but was restrained by Apollo's grip.

"Calm down, he's not worth it," muttered Apollo.

Meg continued to struggle but gave up after a while when she knew that her battle was lost.

"What do you want?" asked Thor calmly, but Apollo could see he too was restraining himself from murdering the monster in front of him.

"Hmm...your lives, perhaps?" Maw said, grinning evilly.

"Not a chance." boomed Thor.

Maw raised his hands just as a loud rumble came from behind him, and from behind him, came thousands of outriders.

"CHARGE!" he yelled.


	15. Chapter 14: Meg

**Chapter 14: Meg**

 _By ttdbzgumball and The Light of the First Dawn_

As the outriders charged forwards, Thor, Meg and Apollo rushed to meet them.

"Get Reyna!" shouted Thor as he blasted Maw with lightning, making him lose his concentration and drop Reyna.

Apollo ran towards Reyna with Meg at his side, slicing away ferociously with her imperial gold _siccae_ blades, killing outrider after outrider. Meanwhile, Thor was calling thunder and lightning down, then setting it on the outriders around him, blasting them off the ground. The outriders floated in the air for a second, then fell dead on the ground, unable to withstand such power.

Apollo reached Reyna and was just hoisting her up when Ebony Maw snapped his fingers and Apollo suddenly found himself suspended in the air, unable to move. Meg reached into her bag, pulled out a packet of seeds and threw it at Maw. The seeds sprouted almost instantly, growing into 5 metre tall vines, entangling itself around Maw, forcing him to drop Apollo.

Apollo crawled over to Reyna and carried her in his arms

"No, leave me," whispered Reyna weakly. "I'm not important."

"No. I'm not leaving anyone behind. Never again," said Apollo firmly as he started to run towards their plane with Reyna in his arms. He was struggling from the weight and it felt like his lungs were about to burst but he knew that he couldn't give up.

"Hurry Apollo! I'm losing control!" screamed Meg. Beads of sweat had begun to form on her forehead and the vines were starting to quiver and break apart as its prisoner struggled to escape.

Meg grunted and staggered a bit, and just at that moment, Ebony Maw jumped out from the messy tangle of vines and raised his hand just as hundreds of Celestial bronze swords, daggers, knives and spears from the now-demolished weapons room flew in Meg's direction.

"Rejoice! You are about to die at the hands of the child of Thanos. The universal scales tip toward balance because of your sacrifice. Smile... for even in death, you have become children of Thanos." grinned Maw maliciously.

Just at that moment, a blur of chubby flesh, leafy wings, and linen diaper hurtled downward and landed right in front of Meg.

"PEACHES! NO! " yelled Meg as the hundreds of weapons sank into the karpos' pink skin.

As the loyal karpos fell, two other karpoi landed on top of Ebony Maw and sank their deadly fangs into his skin. Then eight other karpoi surrounded Maw and started beating him up.

Peaches opened its grassy eyes for one last time and whispered, "Peaches," then closed them and never opened them again.

Time seemed to slow down for Meg as she looked at Peaches' fallen body. Her first friend. Her only companion when she was Nero's prisoner. Her saviour. Her vision blurred as hot tears started flowing down her cheeks. She held Peaches and cried and cried until she had no more tears, oblivious to the fact that the karpoi had surrounded her in a protective circle, oblivious to the fact that Thor had come over and put a hand on her shoulder, refusing to let go of Peaches no matter what.

"You must think that I'm a crybaby now," croaked Meg, wiping her tears.

" No. I get it. People cry not because they're weak. It's because they've been strong for too long." said Thor softly. "I'm sorry."

Meg looked up at Thor and could have sworn she saw tears in his eyes as well. She gave Thor a small smile. "I'm ready. Let's go back and join the fight. And...thank you."

Thor smiled back and flew into the sky, as thunder boomed and crackled. Lightning burst from the sky, killing hundreds of Outriders with a single crack.

Meg watched him go, then looked around at the karpoi surrounding her, protecting her. She put on a brave face, just had she had done her whole life.

"CHARGE! FOR PEACHES!"

"PEACHES!" roared the karpoi as they broke Meg's protective circle and charged at the Outriders.


	16. Chapter 15: Apollo

**Chapter 15: Apollo**

 _By ttdbzgumball and The Light of the First Dawn_

"We can't win this one," muttered Meg beside Thor. "We need to get out of here. Now."

Thor nodded somberly. "Let's go get Apollo and the other one."

"HELP ME!" screamed Apollo, barely shielding Reyna as Outriders swarmed at them.

"Oh no. Oh no," muttered Meg.

"RETREAT!" she yelled at the karpoi as Thor blasted the Outriders with pure lightning, blinding them completely. At the same moment, he grabbed Meg and flew out of the sea of Outriders towards Apollo and Reyna, followed by the karpoi.

Suddenly, Apollo had an idea. A very stupid idea, but one that might work.

"I AM A GOD YOU STUPID WORTHLESS CREATURES!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, mustering all the power he could in his meager human form. "YOU WILL NOT SUBDUE ME! NOW SCRAM!"

The Outriders stopped for a second and stared at him, confused as to why this puny mortal was screaming at them. Even Reyna stirred, mumbling something about nightmares. In that moment of hesitation, Thor grabbed them and flew high up in the sky.

As soon as they were far enough in the air, he summoned the Bifrost. But before they could enter, a cold presence stopped them in their tracks.

"But where do you think you're going?" snarled Ebony Maw behind them. "Surely you didn't think you could escape this easily, could you?"

"Of course not," growled Thor. "But that's exactly what we're doing." And he lashed the full force of a thunderstorm at Maw, and leapt into the Bifrost with Apollo, Meg and Reyna in tow, with Camp Jupiter burning to the ground underneath them.

"Where are we going?" stuttered Apollo, clearly still in shock. Around them was a mirage of shimmering colours and brilliant light. It was almost too much for him to take in, but after all, he was-or at least, used to be-used to such things, as a god.

"The only remotely safe place there still is. Wakanda, here we come."


	17. Chapter 16: Reyna

**Chapter 16: Reyna**

 _By ttdbzgumball and The Light of the First Dawn_

Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano was seven years old.

She was hiding with her big sister, Hylla, under the giant dining table in the manor in San Juan, watching her father in another one of his drunk rages. He screamed in anger and started throwing goblets and plates around, shattering them into a million pieces.

Reyna trembled from underneath the table. Her sister Hylla has described her father as gentle and nice before Reyna was born, but looking at this monster now, she could not imagine him hugging her daughters and reading them bedtime stories. The war had changed him, and she wasn't sure if he was even _human_ anymore.

"No! Dad! Stop!" shouted Hylla, emerging from underneath the table.

Her father saw her, and narrowed his eyes. "You don't deserve to live," he growled to Reyna's sister, and threw a chair at her. It connected with a sickening crack, and as Hylla collapsed to the floor, Reyna could've sworn her father was glowing, becoming more and more transparent, less and less human, if he were ever human to begin with at all. Around her, the evil spirits of her house swirled and whispered treachery and secrets until she just….couldn't take it anymore. She grabbed the nearest weapon, the Pirate Confresi's sabre, and swung it will all her might towards her father, barely a man anymore, her father whom she had grown to despise…

The dream changed.

All of a sudden, she was back at Circe's island resort, helping out with her sister. For once, she felt at peace. She was even...happy.

Then, a girl with blonde curls and a boy with deep sea-green eyes came and changed everything. Suddenly she was on a pirate ship, forced to serve Blackbeard and his crew. But they escaped, and she had to say goodbye to her beloved sister and find her own path.

That was how she ended up in Camp Jupiter, as a praetor, finally in a place where she was free and truly happy. She had friends, a family, a home. The Gaea quest was over, and through it she had found a new family with the Seven, Nico and Hedge. Beside her stood Jason Grace, her former fellow praetor and best friend, watching the sunset in Camp Jupiter just like they used to. But she felt no resentment towards his new family, because they were also her family now. And finally, everything was as it should have been.

Now Camp Jupiter was as she had left it, a smoking ruin of ash and flame. She was at the hands of a monster, and the announcement still echoed through her mind and soul, taunting her, torturing her: _Jason Grace is dead._ What was there to live for now?

Then she remembered, that before everything had turned to Hades, when everyone and everything had started turning to ash, her fellow praetor Frank had led the legion down a set of tunnels that Hazel Levesque had opened, designed to get them out of camp safely. Only Reyna and a few other select demigods had stayed behind to protect the camp, realising that there was no way they would get out of this alive if they had all stayed. They had promised to meet up with each other outside the border, but Reyna had told Frank that if she and the others couldn't make it, they should have gone on without waiting for them, go to Camp Half-Blood. She was right. And now she dearly hoped that they had truly gone on without her, because if they hadn't the results might have been disastrous. All those who had stayed behind with her was dead.

Why wasn't she dead as well?

* * *

Reyna snapped awake.

Bright light pierced her eyes and she winced, shielding her eyes with her hands. Slowly, her vision cleared and when the bright spots cleared, she saw that she was lying in what felt like a cloud. She sat up and quickly examined her surroundings. She was in what looked like a massive laboratory the likes of which she had never seen before. Surrounding her was bizarre technology like she'd never seen before, and everything felt like it was from a science-fiction movie. She touched the spot where the monster who called himself Ebony Maw had fatally wounded her, and was stunned to find that it was fully healed. Nothing remained of the pain and injuries she has sustained from the fall of Camp Jupiter. Her instincts told her she was safe, but her mind refused to let her believe it until a voice snapped her out of the trance-like state of thought she had entered herself into.

"Hey, kid. What are you doing here?"

She turned to find on the bed next to hers was a strangely familiar person. He smiled at her, black eyes crinkling, but underneath those black eyes she could see a haunted man. She suddenly realised where she had seen that face before-it was constantly on the news. Tony Stark.

She didn't know whether he could be considered a friend or an enemy, but she decided she had to be careful. "Where...where are we?"

Tony smiled ruefully. "Wakanda. They've apparently been posing as a third-world country this whole time to hide all the amazing tech they've got here. They even say my suit is primitive. Pssh, I'd like to see them try to upgrade my suit to make it like they say they will. I'm Tony, by the way."

He sounded cheerful, but there was definitely a hint of sadness behind that. Tony seemed open and honest, which Reyna usually found was deceptive, but something about this man made Reyna believe she could trust him.

"Reyna. How long have you been in here?"

"Only two days. Thor brought you in last night."

 _Last….night? But that doesn't make sense...how could the wounds have healed so quickly?_ Her hand subconsciously went to the faint, jagged outline of a scar where Maw had cut her on the stomach.

Tony noticed this and his smile instantly vanished. "That looks painful, but there's nothing a little Wakandan science can't fix, I suppose. You looked much worse last night. At least the worst of it has gone away."

"How did _you_ end up in here?"

Tony sighed. Tears brimmed in his eyes. "It's a long story. I could be asking you the same question."

With that, reality hit Reyna like an Imperial Gold sword cutting into her soul. Almost everyone as she knew it was dead or gone and her home was destroyed, and it was just too much to take in. She doubled over and couldn't stop the tears from falling and falling and falling.

Tony immediately tried to get up, but grimaced in pain. He wheeled his bed towards Reyna and said softly, "Kid. It's alright. I'm sure you've been through hell and back, and I can tell you from personal experience that it's better to just let it all out than to keep it in. It's okay to cry."

"I'm sorry. I...My home is gone, and…we were attacked. By...aliens?" Her brain still struggled to process the information. "They were led by someone who called himself a 'child of Thanos'. I think his name was Ebony Maw." Her sadness hardened into anger at the mention of that cursed name. She wanted revenge on the monster that had destroyed her home.

All the colour instantly drained from Tony's face. "Did you just say Ebony Maw? Ugly guy, extremely uncanny resemblance to Squidward, crazy powerful?"

Reyna stared at him, suspicion returning. "You...know him?"

"Oh, definitely." grumbled Tony. "I fought that dumb jerk in New York. Stowed onto his ship. I thought we killed him, I'm pretty sure no one survives the vacuum of space unless you're some kind of god like Thor. But now his sorry face is back, which just means we get the pleasure of killing him all over again. I guess I should have expected that since Thanos, well..."

That made no sense to Reyna, but she was glad to find that Tony was on her side. "What of Apollo? And Thor?"

"They went to your camp to rescue you, I guess." replied Tony, clearly as in the dark about the recent turn of events as she was. "All I know is that they showed up here last night, requesting you get immediate medical assistance, which you obviously needed. Glad to see Thor again, though, although he looks really different, but that does improve his overall level of attractiveness. Anyways, yeah, he showed up with this scrawny guy who claims he's the Greek god Apollo-"

"He is. That's another very long story."

"And there was also this girl who was about twelve, I think? But she looks like she's capable of taking down the universe. Might want her on the Avengers, after…." His face clouded over with sadness and deep regret, and Reyna decided not to push it.

Just then, the double doors to the lab opened and Thor strode in. He looked a little worse for wear, but his face lit up when he saw Reyna and Tony. "You're awake."

"Hey, Big T," grinned Tony, holding his hand up for a high-five.

"I told you not to call me that," grumbled Thor, but his different-coloured eyes glimmered as he reciprocated the high-five. He turned to Reyna and offered her a smile. "Come. We have much to discuss. The Avengers and everyone else are waiting in the council room."


	18. Chapter 17: Tony

**Chapter 17: Tony**

 _By ttdbzgumball and The Light of the First Dawn_

Tony was continually amazed at all the tech Wakanda had to offer, but that didn't mean he had to show it. He had a reputation to keep up, after all.

First they had healed him and all his injuries, including the massive stab wound Thanos had given him (which couldn't even have been fully repaired by his own nanotechnology) _overnight_. Then, when he had started to recover, they showed him all the wonderful things vibranium had to offer. If the world had known it existed, it could be utopia now. But there was also the flip side of it...Tony shuddered to think about the dire consequences bringing vibranium into the world early in the conquest of man could and would have had. Perhaps the Wakandans had had the right idea, keeping the vibranium to themselves all these millenia. Perhaps.

And then he had found out all the new technology had been designed by the Princess Shuri. A sixteen year old girl. But then again, he had learned not to underestimate sixteen-year-old girls.

One such girl was Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano, who had, at a third of his age, suffered as much as he himself had. And he had suffered a lot, maybe too much. After he had explained to her what had happened with Thanos and the Infinity Stones, she was visibly shocked, but it only lasted for a few seconds before her resolve hardened and she had agreed to help. She had told him, hesitantly but honestly, about her horrific experiences with her father and her quest to stop Gaea, and by the end of it they had grown to trust each other. He watched her now as she talked with Shuri about her world of Roman gods, and Shuri would laugh and give the occasional gasp. They got along quite well, despite having only met five minutes ago.

"Ambrosia and nectar sound amazing," said Shuri wistfully. "I wish us mere mortals could take it too."

"Perhaps your heart-shaped herb is some kind of variant of that."

"Maybe after all this is over, we can fix New Rome and upgrade it with vibranium."

"That would be great." And they rattled off about the potential of vibranium and Imperial gold. It, of course, reminded him of Peter, and he smiled sadly watching them.

Beside him, Thor, as if reading his mind, said, "Don't worry. Peter's safe now in Valhalla." When he had said that, Tony had at first thought it was just a form of empty consolation, but he learned that Thor basically ran the Underworld. However, it also meant he could never see Peter again, despite Thor's continual efforts to erase that law, which broke his heart. At least Peter was safe.

The vibranium elevator they were in stopped at the top floor, and Tony, Reyna, Thor and Shuri entered a gigantic room. Seated around a table were all the remaining Avengers and the other two that Thor had brought to Wakanda the day before.

The head throne was left empty in respect of T'Challa. Shuri stiffened when she saw the throne and took the one on the right.

Apollo leapt up to meet Reyna. "Praetor, it's good to see you here."

"Thank you, Lord Apollo," replied Reyna. She obviously wasn't used to the idea that Apollo was now mortal like the rest of them.

They each took a seat and Tony, seeing no other option, sat between Steve and Banner. The tension between himself and Steve was still brimming on the surface. They didn't quite know how to talk to each other anymore between Tony's pride and Steve's sobriety, but their relationship was slowly, but surely, mending.

Meanwhile, Bruce was furious, and not in the way he wanted to be. The Hulk was still refusing to emerge, no matter how many times he tried to persuade and even hurt himself. So he had resolved to completely ignore the giant green beast and learn how to defend himself without the Hulk. Tony had graciously lent him the Hulkbuster permanently (now vibranium-upgraded and better than ever), but it just wasn't the same. Still, it was something.

Tony looked around, at the bizarre gathering of humans, gods and raccoon, and decided that it was the least weird thing after everything that had happened. Maybe after all this mess was over, they would start a circus. That would definitely cheer them up, if they all made it out alive. The casualty rate wasn't really helping with that either.

Tony was still absorbed in his absurd thoughts when Bruce tapped him on the back. "We need to start talking."

He snapped out of it and realised everyone was staring at him. "Oh, hi, everyone. As I'm sure you all know, we have a crisis on our hands. Thanos has destroyed half the universe, and he has the power of the Infinity stones with him."

Thor continued. "These guys," gesturing to Meg, Apollo and Reyna, "are fighting their own battles, but it has been revealed that their enemies the Triumvirate have been working with Thanos all along." He briefly explained the immortality plan, which most of them already knew, but this was news to Reyna. She didn't look surprised, only more determined to eliminate the looming threats coming their way.

"Now, we need to think about what comes next. Obviously, we need to protect him," he pointed to Apollo, "before the Triumvirate can get to him-"

"-and flay my godly essence from me, etcetera etcetera. I can tell you, it is extremely painful. And that also means we need to protect Thor here, because there is a chance they will also come for his immortal essence."

"Hold on." said Meg. "Medea is dead, so doesn't that mean they can't get your essences anymore?"

"Ah, but that's where it gets complicated." said Apollo grimly. "Given the proper… technology...they could probably get my essence out, with or without the use of magic."

"I don't like what you're implying, but you're probably right." grumbled the raccoon, which surprised Meg and Reyna a bit. "Which means we don't just need to protect the big guy and God junior here, we need to protect the vibranium. Which I don't blame Thanos for wanting to take, they've got some sweet tech here. I would steal it myself if…What? It's true."

"The rabbit is correct," said Thor. "Now, here's what we need to find out. Where is Thanos now? When he escaped, he jumped into a portal created by the Space Stone. The memory's still muddy in my head-too much was happening at once-but I think if we can somehow track the Space Stone's trail or something, we can find out where he's gone."

"I can do that," said Shuri. "Tracking devices are simple. The only thing we need is some kind of sample of the Space Stone's power. If only…"

"I think I know where we can find that." All eyes turned to Steve. "In World War 2, HYDRA took the Tesseract-where the Space Stone was stored-and performed experiments on it. The only problem is that their old base in the Austrian Alps was destroyed when we infiltrated it in the 1940s."

"That shouldn't be too much of a problem. I'm sure a lot of the Space Stone's power signature is still around that area. We can use that."

"May father studied the Tesseract and has lots of extensive notes on it. SHIELD also experimented with it before New York happened. We can use that too." said Tony.

"That settles it." said Steve. "Tony and I will help the princess find a way to track the Space Stone."

"I'm in too," said Rocket. "We're going to find some sweet loot out there."

"Next thing we need to do is to weed out the Triumvirate." said Apollo. "Zeus sent me on this quest to free the Oracles, so we should probably do that. Destroying the Triumvirate would accomplish that and also save the universe. However, there are a few catches: Thanos knows we're coming, and so does the Triumvirate. And Thanos has the Time Stone and can see all the possible timelines and ways this would turn out. So we must be unpredictable. The other thing is the prophecy the last Oracle we freed gave us…" He shuddered at the memory. " _Apollo faces death in Tarquin's Tomb unless the doorway to the soundless god is opened by Bellona's Daughter_ _."_

There was a silence in the room as everyone took this new bit of information in.

"You, Reyna, are Bellona's daughter." said Apollo solemnly. "About the rest of the prophecy, I am not so sure…"

"I am." Everyone turned to Bruce, who was deep in thought. "I studied Classics in university. It was one of my PhDs."

"Why am I not surprised," muttered Natasha, but Bruce continued.

"Tarquin was the seventh and last king of Rome. He died somewhere near Naples, Italy. Cumae, I think it was…"

Suddenly, a slew of memories bombarded Apollo. He staggered back and put his head in his hands.

"I remember now. The Cumaean Sibyl."

"Exactly." said Banner. "Historical legend goes that the god Dionysus, who I'm sure you know, visited King Tarquin around the time the kings of Rome were expelled. He was disguised as a woman, apparently, and offered Tarquin the Sibylline Books, which he refused, and basically destroyed them in threes until Tarquin finally accepted the books. However, they've been lost for centuries, I think. How could…"

The realisation hit Reyna. "Ella."

"What?"

"Ella, the harpy. She somehow got her hands on a copy of the Sibylline Books and memorised them all. We were trying to record them down, but after Camp Jupiter fell…I think she escaped with Frank and Hazel to Camp Half-Blood. Which means we need to get there immediately. It's a camp for demigods on Long Island," she explained to the Avengers.

"Wait, but the prophecy said you needed to go to Tarquin's tomb, which according to Banner is in Italy." said Thor. "It also mentioned a soundless god. Who could that be?

"I have no idea." said Apollo. "That's something we'll need to find out."

"New plan." said Tony. "Apollo, Reyna, the girl-"

"My name's Meg."

"-Meg, you guys should go to Camp Half-Blood first, since you said something about your legion escaping? It would probably be beneficial to find out if they made it to the camp or not. Find the harpy who you said was memorising the books, and try to find out as much about them as possible. Then you can go to Italy or whatever it was. Having Thor go with you would be helpful, but it's too dangerous to have two gods together-it's basically a magnet for the Black Order and the Triumvirate. So volunteers to go with them on this crazy quest?"

"I'll go," said Banner. "You guys are going to need all the contextual help you can get."

"Okay then. That part's settled. Lastly-I can't believe we just got to the last part-this isn't really a last part, more a _What comes next?_ part. We actually need a plan, once we locate Thanos, to defeat him. No more improvisation. There must be a way."

"Wanda did it. She destroyed the Mind Stone, but Thanos used the Time Stone to reverse the damage," said Natasha.

"We can't let that happen again. So I think we need to find a way to stop the time stone from working. Actually, we should find a way to stop ALL the stones from working."

"How do we do that?" questioned Rhodey. "I'm pretty sure we don't have the power against the stones. Wanda and Pietro are both dead, and they were the only ones who stood a chance against the stones because their powers CAME from the stones."

"Wait...what if we make a machine that can stop the power of the stones, even for a brief moment? Kind of like the gauntlet, but reversed?" asked Banner.

"I might be able to, but I don't think vibranium will be strong enough to hold it," replied Shuri, already deeply absorbed in her ideas.

"Eitri!" exclaimed Thor suddenly.

"You mean the guy who made your new axe on Nidavellir?" asked Rocket. "I would have stolen something from him, but there wasn't really anything left anyways so…"

"No, rabbit, we are not going to steal anything from him." said Thor sternly. "We could go back. The Infinity Gauntlet and my axe were forged with the heart of a dying star. If anything could make a machine that would stop the Infinity Stones from working, even if only for a short period of time, it would be made there."

"Even if Thanos was stripped of the power of the Stones, he still has an army, and is strong enough to hold back even the Hulk." said Bruce.

"And the gauntlet plan didn't work last time. We still need to find a way to destroy the Stones, permanently this time, while still holding back Thanos and his army. Not to mention the fact that we don't have half of our most useful assets. Strange, the rest of the Guardians, T'Challa…" Tony trailed off. He didn't need to remind everyone what they had lost.

"We'll find a way." said Steve firmly. "But right now, let's focus on what we've got and work our way out from there."


	19. Chapter 18: Meg

**Chapter 18: Meg**

 _By ttdbzgumball and The Light of the First Dawn_

"Peaches." murmured Meg McCaffrey as she absentmindedly traced patterns in the air. "He was my first friend and he died at the battle of Camp Jupiter."

"I'm...so sorry," said Reyna softly. "It's hard to lose someone you love." She offered Meg some tissues and she accepted them gratefully.

They stood side-by-side, watching the beautiful sunset over Wakanda. Meg had originally wanted to leave as soon as possible, but Thor had insisted they rest for a day before they set off on their next crazy journey. Meg was obviously still worried, but she had to say she was relieved to be able to get some rest. She only had one request: they hold a funeral for her deceased, fruity friend, and obviously the Avengers couldn't not agree. Now she, Reyna and Apollo were here, where Shuri had generously given them a spot in Wakanda's burial ground.

Meg took a deep breath and held out the peach she had prepared to represent Peaches. Apollo helped her dig a hole into the ground, where she planted the peach into the ground. She placed her hands on the fresh soil, channeling her powers, and a magnificent peach tree blossomed. A final and long-lasting reminder of what she had lost.

"We brought something too," came a voice behind her. She turned to find Tony, Steve and the other Avengers silently watching. Tony held a watering can and walked over, sprinkling the soil with water. "It's not regular water. I developed a formula so that the nutrients will enrich the soil make the tree last for much longer than it regularly would, and also make it much stronger and weather-resistant. If anything, I hope that that it can help the memory of your friend last forever."

Meg smiled at them gratefully. "Thank you for everything." She cleared her throat, starting the eulogy she had prepared.

"We called him Peaches, because that was what he loved to say. He may have been a terrible driver, but he had a good heart. He was formidable in battle, and he died fighting bravely. More than anything, he was a brave and loyal friend. He was my first friend. And he would have loved this sunset." She stopped to gather herself. "I loved him, and I realise that he loved me as well. Thank you for saving me over and over again and being my friend when I was alone." she said directly to the peach tree. "I hope he's happy, wherever he is, in the….karpoi afterlife." She laughed shakily.

"Peaches the karpoi

Was a hero and died one

Never forgotten." recited Apollo. chuckling half-heartedly. "Maybe my poetry powers are returning."

The other Avengers bowed their heads solemnly in respect. Thor walked to Meg and pulled her into a hug. "He loved you. That's why he died for you, and that's why you'll never forget him."

Something inside Meg broke and she finally allowed herself to cry, sobbing into Thor's shoulder. After she pulled away, she realised the tears that had fallen wasn't just because she missed her fallen friend, it was also because after all this time, she felt….content. It might have been a feeling she was crazy to be having, given the mess they were in, but it felt like she had finally found somewhere to stay, someone-maybe more than just one-to love.

Like she had found a family.


	20. Chapter 19: Magnus

**Chapter 19: Magnus**

 _By ttdbzgumball and The Light of the First Dawn_

"So, Thanos," started Magnus.

The Avengers and Jason turned to face him, and there was an awkward moment as they stared at each other silently. It was the morning after the fateful dinner, and after a not-so-good night's sleep they were up and ready to go, and Magnus had questions.

Jason broke the silence and stared into the blond demigod's grey eyes, "You're...Magnus, aren't you? Annabeth's cousin?"

"Yeah."

"I miss her," murmured Jason softly. "I haven't seen her since...well, since all this mess with Apollo."

"She misses you too," whispered Magnus. "We recently had a phone call and she told me all about the Triumvirate, and seeing as they obviously have something to do with this whole Thanos mess, I'm in. I may be dead but I definitely don't want to see the universe destroyed."

"Me neither," said Jason, and the other Avengers nodded silently behind him.

"Why don't we go to my room and have a talk?" said Magnus. "Then you can explain what's happened-" There was a collective groan from the Avengers. "Oh, you guys are tired of explaining things. I don't blame you. But we also have a crisis and we need your help."

"Oh, fun," muttered Sam. "More trouble."

"Yeah. The problem is, ever since Valhalla went on lockdown there's been a communications problem. We used to be able to communicate with the living, but now they can't even see us anymore. We haven't been able to communicate with our allies. My friends...Sam, Blitzen, Hearth…we can't talk to then anymore. Also, us einherji used to have enhanced strength and speed and whatever, but now we don't. And as I'm sure you've noticed, you don't have your full power anymore. Bits and pieces maybe, but definitely not your full potential. Maybe you thought it was normal but it's not. We're just...dead."

The Avengers looked at each other, startled. Strange immediately tried to make a portal and only occasional orange sparks came out, but no matter how hard he tried, he still could not make a full portal. It was true then, but they hadn't expected it to be a problem in the land of the dead.

"Wait... but if Valhalla is on lockdown, how are we supposed to get out and get our powers back?" asked Jason.

"I have an idea, but I need your help," replied Magnus.

"Well, if it's going to help us get back to the outside world and fight Thanos, I'm in," said Quill.

"So am I," said Jason.

And all of the other Avengers slowly, but surely nodded solemnly, eager to get out and get revenge on the Mad Titan. Magnus watched them and felt a peculiar humming inside his ears. These guys were already more powerful than any mortal or demigod he had ever encountered, and this was already only when they had very, very limited powers. He shuddered to think of them at their full potential. This Thanos must be Hela powerful to be able to kill Loki and defeat these heroes so effortlessly.

"Well, I once heard from Hunding that there was a myth of a gate in Valhalla created by Odin and the key was hidden somewhere and only Odin knew where it was, but since all of the Norse gods except Thor are dead, no one knows its location anymore. If we can find it, we might be able to solve all our problems and fix the whole dead and alive problem, and maybe also the problems with our powers." explained Magnus.

"But...it's only a myth, isn't it?" asked Peter.

"Yes, but I have learnt in my very short life that myths are real. Think of Norse gods, they were myths, and yet a very real Thor was sitting right next to you guys just now…" replied Magnus.

"Right. Good point. Myths inside myths. Like Mythception. Oh, hey, other Peter, that's THE best movie. Things sure have improved since the 70s, you know."

"Oh, I'd really like to see you try." said Quill under his breath. "The game is afoot."

"Anyways, steering clear of the references," said Magnus, winking at Peter, "The gate is rumoured to only be found in times of great trouble…"

"Well, then now would be a perfect time for it to show up." muttered Bucky. "Besides, what's the deal with all these myths? They basically all have the same meaning behind them. It's incredibly cliche."

"Yeah, I know." said Magnus in a strained voice. "But I think at this point anything is worth a shot while we're stuck here, as I'm sure you would agree."


	21. Chapter 20: T'Challa

**Chapter 20: T'Challa**

 _By ttdbzgumball and The Light of the First Dawn_

 _Beep Boop Beep Boop_

"With all due respect, we are on an important mission and I do not think being distracted by electronic devices is appropriate." grumbled the King of Wakanda as they walked through the winding labyrinth of corridors, trying his best to keep his cool. Secretly, the technology and the walking tree's attitude vaguely reminded him of Shuri. He wondered for a second if she was alright, but since she was not in Valhalla as she deserved to be, she must be alive, and, he hoped, safe with the other Avengers. He pushed those thoughts away and continued to look.

Beside him, Sam Wilson was attempting to make friendly conversation with the tree, but it wasn't working.

"Hey, is that Galaga?"

"I am Groot!"

"I don't speak Tree but I can tell that was not a nice answer."

As they argued behind him, T'Challa plowed on, passing cabinets and cabinets filled with dishes and utensils.

"I have no idea where we're going," muttered Sam as he looked around. "Everything looks the same."

That was true, everything was white and every aisle had sinks in the same positions, dishes all polished to perfection, to the point that you might as well use one as a mirror. It was reminiscent of a stock photo of a porcelain shop, except much more high-quality and without the stupid watermark.

"Well, then we are lucky that the tree had at least some sense to mark our path." Before entering the maze of corridors and rows of plates, T'Challa had advised Groot to trace their path so that they might find their way out should they get lost. The tree didn't go without complaining, but he had finally agreed to tie one of his roots to the door and as they walked, it unraveled, leaving a clear, marked path.

Suddenly, there was a snap as the root Groot had been using to mark their path snapped in half. He yelped, and screamed, "I AM GROOT!"

T'Challa immediately instinctively crossed his arms in front of his chest, and stretched his fingers but then slumped in frustration when the claws wouldn't come out no matter what. More than anything at this point, he felt regret. He still remembered his coronation as king, going into the Ancestral Plains to meet his predecessors and seeing his beloved father for the first time after the United Nations building had blown up. The last time he'd seen his father, however, he'd been at the brink of death, yelling at him in grief and rage over the monumental mistake of leaving the small boy who would grow up to be Erik Killmonger behind all those years ago in Oakland. So much had changed, and Wakanda, now open to the world, had never been the same after that incident that had changed his life. Now he would never see his father again, never fulfil the destiny of Wakandan kings to reside in the Ancestral Plains forever after death. He was stuck here, and not that it was bad, but he would never belong in this version of the afterlife. As this went through his head, he could imagine what Shuri would say: "Don't worry, brother. There is always a solution to any problem. We brought you from the brink of death once, if that is possible anything is." But the problem now was that he was dead in a place that he would never accept being dead in. What was the solution to that?

There was also the matter of Sam. (because they tried to kill each other in Civil war and everything) I'll write this part later

Groot's constant cursing in "I-am-Grootish" snapped him out of his thoughts. Sam grunted in frustration. "He's extended it for too long. Groot, this might be too much to ask, but-"

Groot nodded in extreme irritation. "I am Groot."

"Thanks, bud," grinned Sam and Groot extended another root and masterfully intertwined it with the old one, and they continued walking pointlessly around what seemed like endless aisles.

After an hour of non-stop walking around the ginormous kitchen, they were ready to give up and were walking back to where they'd came from when all of a sudden, T'Challa's ears perked up. There was something. He felt a tingling sensation go through his body and his instincts told him to run the other way immediately. But whenever he felt this, he would always do the opposite.

He looked around him and noticed Groot with the same apprehension on his wooden face.

"I am Groot," said Groot, pointing towards a shiny glass door that seemed to have materialised out of nowhere. It had no handle or hinges and it was just _standing there,_ completely defying the laws of physics. But then again, T'Challa had seen too many things that had broken the laws of reality to be surprised at this point.

"How…" began Sam, but was silenced by T'Challa putting his finger to his mouth.

They slowly crept towards the door and tried to push it open. It was locked.

Sam sighed. "It must be nothing, just another random storage room to store the stupid cooking stuff."

"Then how did it just magically appear?" asked T'Challa. He knew that these things didn't just happen by coincidence. Something had to have triggered it. He began to thoroughly examine the door for any clues to how it had appeared and how they could open it. There was nothing. Just a stupid, useless board in the middle of the road. He sighed, then turned around and started to walk back again.

Suddenly, Sam yelped. T'Challa turned and saw that Sam's foot was caught in what looked like a metal boot on top of a floor tile that had sunk into the ground. Woody vines had begun to snake up his foot and seemed to be squeezing hard. T'Challa noticed that the more he struggled, the tighter the vines became, and within seconds, the vines had reached his waist.

"Don't move!" yelled T'Challa.

Sam listened and stopped struggling but was still frantically waving his arms around, hoping the vines would stop entangling him.

Meanwhile, T'Challa was frantically racking his brain to find any information about this vine and how to stop it. Suddenly, an idea came into his mind. It was absurd, but it was worth a try.

He rushed to the counters and rummaged around to find a lighter and grabbed a fire extinguisher from the wall.

"Here, take this and spray when I tell you to," he commanded, thrusting the fire extinguisher into Groots arms. He then turned to Sam and said, "I need you to trust me, alright? And take a deep breath."

Sam nodded weakly. T'Challa clicked the lighter and a small, orange flame emerged from it. He gingerly walked over to Sam. Sam stared at him with wide eyes, but didn't flinch when he lit one of the bottom vines with the lighter. When the fire had burnt away the bottom vines, T'Challa yelled, "Now!" and within seconds, the fire was replaced with a haze of smoke.

As the smoke cleared away, T'Challa saw the vines sink back down to wherever they came from and breathed a huge sigh of relief as the vines revealed a conscious and unharmed Sam gagging and coughing from the smoke.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah *cough* than *cough* thanks," Sam choked out.

All of a sudden, the glass door swung open and a sign appeared on the door. It said, _Congratulations. You have proven yourself worthy and passed the first test._

Test? What? That was a test? And how was basic common sense supposed to prove that they were worthy? There were a million questions in his head but he pushed them all away. He had to focus and find out what was inside the glass door now.

"So, I guess we go in?" asked Sam, clapping T'Challa on the back. Somehow, the King didn't mind. Not anymore.

"Yes," said T'Challa, putting on a face of pure determination.

And so the three of them approached the glass door together, with no idea of what would happen to them inside.


	22. Chapter 21: SamGrootT'Challa

**Chapter 21: Sam/Groot/T'Challa**

 _By ttdbzgumball and The Light of the First Dawn_

The door led to a long, dark corridor. In the corner were a pile of bones, neatly stacked up. In front of them, was an enormous nest. Thousands of ravens swarmed around it and in the middle of the nest were two extremely big and black ravens. To his surprise, one of the ravens opened its mouth and said, "Welcome, trespassers, to the gate of Heimdallr. We are Hugin and Munin, Odin's messengers."

"I am Groot?" inquired Groot, pointing at the pile of bones.

"EAT THEM?!" shrieked the other raven. "Why would you dare insinuate...no, of course we didn't eat them! We just like using them to build nice castles sometimes (we have a weird passion for interior design), and Jenga is truly the greatest thing to have been invented since the Bifrost. Anyways, you must have done a pretty good job to get so far because most people just die before they even reach the door. So a pat on the back for you. But too bad, because even if you get past us and them, you still won't be able to open the gate because…"

"Shush!" interrupted the other raven, glaring at the other raven, Hugin or Munin with his beady black eyes. "You can't just tell them why they can't open the gate, they're supposed to figure it out themselves! At least that's what Master said."

"So...I take that we have to kill you and 'them' whatever they are to get to the gate? I really don't want to kill anyone, so can you please tell us where to find the gate so that we can get out of here and fight Thanos?" asked Sam.

"Hmph. You have no idea how many people have said that." muttered Hugin or Munin. "But I must admit that you're more creative than the others, I've never heard anyone use 'Thanos' as an excuse before."

"No, it's true," said T'Challa. "We are not making this up. Thanos is a real person and he has killed half the universe with the snap of his fingers. If we don't go out and stop him, there is no guarantee how many more people he will kill."

"Nice story," said Munin. "The best that I've ever heard in thousands of years. Well... I suppose I can help you, if you prove yourself trustworthy."

"Yes, sure, anything," said Sam eagerly.

"What if I tell you to run towards the red lights over there?" grinned Hugin.

"Uh, ok?" replied Sam and started to walk towards the lights cautiously. When he reached the corner, he suddenly stiffened was lifted off the ground, thrashing wildly. He was then dropped onto the ground and lay there stunned, but not for long.

From the shadows emerged a giant beast. It had no corporeal form, and it just kept shifting into different shapes. Then it split into three. One of them approached T'Challa, and he stiffened with horror as it shifted into the form of a black man wearing a simple Black Panther suit. "No…" he murmured.

"I am Groot," growled Groot as another shadow turned into the raccoon who had appeared with Thor in Wakanda.

"Cap!" exclaimed Sam as the third shadow turned into his best friend, the first Avenger, wearing his Captain America costume, with his shield slung behind his back.

Suddenly, as of on cue, all three parts of the monster moved together, attacking Sam, T'Challa and Groot. The monster portraying Cap unslung his shield and flung it at Sam. Sam having just recovered from his shock, dodged a second late and the vibranium shield made a deep gash on his arm. With newfound fury and certainty that this was not Cap, Sam picked the shield up from the floor and charged at the monster. The monster was fast and nimble, dodging all of Sam's blows and circled Sam, aiming for his weak spots. Soon, the monster was like a whirlwind, circling around Sam, attacking him non-stop. Sam managed to deflect most of the monsters' powerful kicks and strong punches, but was soon overpowered and received a fatal blow on the side of his head. Hot, sticky blood was started to flow down his face and he began to get dizzier and dizzier by the second. Black spots began floating around his vision and he was losing consciousness. The monster loomed closer, raising his fist for the death blow. I will not die here. No. I will not die here, he kept telling himself, and with his last burst of strength, he flung the shield full force at the monster and fell, losing consciousness entirely.

* * *

Groot POV

"Dad?" asked Groot softly, hopefully. There, standing before him, was clearly his father. The last part missing from his family. The only one who wasn't dead.

Rocket roared and took his gun and started to open fire at Groot, spraying him with bullets. Groot looked shocked, but used his roots to form a shield in front of him and deflected all the bullets.

"I am Groot?" he whimpered.

The monster continued to fire at Groot, but when it saw that it couldn't penetrate Groot's strong shield, it grabbed an electric disk and needles from its bag and flung them at Groot. Groot dodged the electric disk and turned his roots into swords to block the needles. The monster roared in outrage and changed the function of the gun so that instead of bullets, it fired lasers. The lasers were deadly, and even Groot's strong roots couldn't block it. Soon, before he knew it, two of his roots were sliced in half. He still refused to attack the monster, and only blocked or parried its attacks so soon, he was on the lower ground. He saw that he was going to lose, and as a laser shot towards him, right at his heart, he closed his eyes and prepared for death. It didn't come.

Just at the last moment, T'Challa pulled him out of the way just in time. T'Challa had then pounced on the monster, just as the monster suddenly melted into shadows and disappearing, leaving him lying on the ground.

* * *

T'Challa POV

T'Challa stood up and brushed himself off. He had just barely saved Groot and the small tree was now standing frozen, still overwhelmed by his close brush with death.

He drew in a sharp breath as he felt a shadow loom over him from behind. He whipped around and found himself staring into his father's clear dark eyes.

"Father…" started T'Challa.

Of course it wasn't real. Of course this wasn't actually his father, his king. No, his father did not belong here, just as much as T'Challa himself didn't. This was an illusion. It was all an illusion. And yet….something about it just felt so real, so concrete that T'Challa refused to let go of it. Of course, this was until the monster attacked him.

T'Challa's quick reflexes saved him just in time as the monster swiped with razor-sharp vibranium claws at his chest. It eerily reminded him of his initiation ceremony as king. Fighting M'Baku, fighting Killmonger….But he would not die today. Not again.

He ducked, punched, kicked, swiped, but as usual his father was too fast. Always too fast. He was nine again, sparring, and he had been knocked down within the first minute. His father had laughed and extended his hand. "Train and you will improve, my son." T'Challa had reached up, smiling, eager to begin the next round.

Now he remembered. The very next day, his father had set off on an important mission to Oakland, California, and that had been the day that doomed Wakanda.

And now he was snapped back to the present. The monster who took the guise of his father's face did not show mercy, did not extend a hand. No, they were fighting to kill. And that became evident when he barely dodged another swipe to the face. It struck his shoulder instead, and T'Challa howled in pain. Taking advantage, the monster kicked him square in the chest and he keeled forward. And he realised there was no way they could win this fight. Not today.

"All right!" he yelled at the monster, hating himself for saying it. "We yield! We are not strong enough. Let us go in peace."

The monster considered this, and drew an arm back for the final strike. T'Challa braced himself, but the monster dissolved into smoke and retreated back into the shadows the way it came.

T'Challa watched it go and stood momentarily in shock, then ran to Sam and Groot. Groot stood shakily on his feet, barely standing. He shook Sam awake. "Uhhh...what?" Sam mumbled, barely conscious.

"Come. We will live to see another day. For now." breathed T'Challa. He hoisted Sam up with his good shoulder and they began to hobble towards the door.

"Better run now, before the monster changes his mind," teased one of the ravens, giggling behind them. T'Challa had barely remembered they were there. He desperately wanted to strangle them, but he restrained himself, gritting his teeth in anger and pain.

As Sam, T'Challa and Groot ran as fast as they could back into the kitchen, T'Challa heard the ravens howling with laughter behind them.

"Only one of royal blood can get past the beast, you idiots!" he heard one shout. "And now Odin is dead, you can't really do that, unless…"

"Shut up!" roared the other one. "You're not supposed to tell them! Let them figure it out for once, won't you?"

"Sorry," muttered the other raven as T'Challa and Groot, carrying Sam, turned round the corridor and sprinted out of there as fast as their bruised legs could take them.


	23. Chapter 22: Bucky

**Chapter 22: Bucky**

 _By ttdbzgumball and The Light of the First Dawn_

James Buchanan Barnes was getting really tired of crawling.

In the war, he was forced to crawl through disgusting trenches with smells enough to knock out a giant. Now, he was on a different mission entirely: crawling through the laundry room in Hotel Valhalla, searching for some mystical portal that might or might not exist.

He had grown accustomed to dealing with extreme expansions in his version of reality. After all, he'd been injected with serum that had turned him superhuman, brainwashed to forget everything he loved and had woken up 70 years into the future. This almost just felt like another day in the mind-exploding roller coaster. Almost.

Meanwhile, Wanda, Strange and the rest were in the library researching. Researching! Apart from T'Challa, Sam and Groot, who were exploring the kitchens and were probably getting lost. While he was suffocating from the piles of dirty underwear and smelly socks. Can you believe it? He always got stuck with the dirty work anyways.

At least he wasn't alone. But that almost made it even worse.

"Hey, Mr. Bucky, do you think that the portal could be somewhere in this laundry basket?" asked the kid Peter Parker, rummaging through the piles of armor and who-knows what.

"Oh, yes, a magical portal would _totally_ be inside some random baskets of laundry," grumbled Bucky sarcastically.

It wasn't that he didn't like the kid. In fact, the boy was starting to grow on him. Still, having constant blabber around while trying to do thoroughly embarrassing work was-irritating, to say the least.

"Kid, do you have a better plan? Magnus said that according to legend the only way to find the portal was to stumble upon it. And there's no better place to stumble upon stuff, especially long-lost stuff, than the laundry room." He sighed, realising he was only aggravating himself even further, and sat down. "Sorry, Parker. This is a lot to take in."

"No, I understand, Mr. Bucky. My world's been flipped upside down so many times it's basically a burnt pancake now. But I can't think it's anything compared to yours."

He grinned tiredly. "Looks like we both ended up with burned pancakes of lives, haven't we?"

Peter smiled wearily in return. "At least it's still a pancake. Maybe not edible anymore, but still a delicious specimen of food that deserves to be protected."

Suddenly, Magnus burst into the laundry room. "Guys, I think we found something. Let's go back to the library."

"Oh god," muttered Bucky. "What was that for then?"

"I don't know," said Peter. "But we did find something. The power of friendship."

Magnus shrugged, "Well there could be _something_ down here, you never know."

Bucky kept shaking his head and grumbling as they walked the long way back to the library, where the Avengers and Jason were waiting.

"Can't we just take the short way? I mean, without all the smell and stuff?" groaned Bucky.

"There isn't really a short way," said Magnus. "That's kind of the point of the laundry room."

"You're kidding me. You're telling me you have magical rooms and plates that fill up with food but you don't have some sort of shortcut around the place?"

"This place kind of reminds me of Hogwarts," remarked Peter. "Are you sure-"

"Nope," said Magnus. "Trust me, I wish it was real, but to our knowledge, no."

"Hogwarts? What's that?" asked Bucky. In his head a mental image had quickly formed of a very warty pig sitting in front of a dinner plate that would fill up automatically.

"We really have a lot to catch up on," replied Peter. "One of these days I'll sit you and Quill down and we're going to watch all the movies that have come out since 1970."

They walked in silence, all of them thinking it but not saying it out loud: if they didn't solve this problem, and solve it quickly, there might not be many days left.

Bucky _still_ didn't know what Hogwarts was, but his mental image was most probably incorrect. Why would anyone make a movie of a warty pig and a plate?

They arrived at the library, which was somehow bigger than the laundry room.

"So what _did_ you find?" asked Bucky impatiently.

"Patience, Padawan." said Quill monotonously.

"Hey, finally a relevant reference!" grinned Parker, and the two Peters fist-bumped.

" _Wow, I'm very proud,"_ said Bucky sarcastically. "Now can we please get on to the findings?"

"Anyways," started Strange. "We were looking through old hotel guides-yes, they do have those here, and you would be surprised how useful they really are for navigating this hotel. So we looked through the guides, and we found information about a room aptly called the "Forbidden Room". Apparently, it would disappear at random intervals and then reappear at a completely different location, but that room was one of the first ever rooms of Hotel Valhalla when Odin has built it. And no one has ever been inside. The last time anyone has mentioned it was…" Strange squinted at the ancient text. "1,450 years ago."

"Well, that's just great. How do we find something that was last seen 1,450 years ago?"

Jason suddenly snapped to it. ""Wait….1450 years ago….we can ask Hunding! He's been...a valued member since seven hundred something C.E. Surely that's more than 1450 years ago."

"I'll go ask him," piped Magnus, "And...does anyone happen to have a bar of chocolate on them? Hunding loves chocolates."

"Chocolates?" asked Peter. "Hey Suit Lady, do you happen to have a bar of chocolate on you?"

That sounded like absolute nonsense to the rest of the crowd until Peter slumped. "I should've known. The suit doesn't work out here."

"Well, what do you expect? We're dead."

"Okay then, new quest: to find a bar of chocolate to persuade Hunding to tell us." announced Jason.

"This is just like an RPG game," muttered Peter. This modern jargon was making less and less sense to Bucky, but he nodded anyways.

It took a few minutes for this particular mini-quest to be completed, however, as Drax ran up to his room and came back 5 minutes later holding numerous bars of chocolate.

"I just asked for it nicely in my room." said Drax matter-of-factly. "Keep one for Hunding and we can share the rest."

And that was how the demigods and Avengers ended up sitting at the floor of the Hotel Valhalla library and breaking the number-two rule of any library: no food. Well, they had already broken the number-one rule by speaking in the library anyways, but to Bucky this just seemed like a sweet, sweet, maybe too sweet reward for all their troubles.

And then he realised something was amiss.

"Where's T'Challa? And Sam?"

"And Groot?"

"Uhhh...which ones are those again? Oh, the tree and the other guys. They were down at the…" trailed off Magnus, realising something had gone terribly, terribly wrong.

Just then, the door swung open with an ear-splintering BANG. At the door, looking as if they had just been through Muspelheim and back, stood Groot, T'Challa and Sam.

"What-" started Magnus, but T'Challa cut him off.

"Thor. We need. Thor."


End file.
